The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), on May 7, 2020, solemnly refuted the erroneous and inappropriate comments made by mainland China’s Taiwan Affairs Office regarding Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization (WHO). Taiwan has never been part of the People's Republic of China (PRC) either historically or under documents in international law. The 23 million people of Taiwan have never accepted the "one China principle" unilaterally established by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Political interference in human health rights is not behavior befitting a civilized country.
The MAC reiterated that the Republic of China (ROC) is a sovereign state. The CCP authorities have repeatedly miscited United Nations (UN) General Assembly Resolution 2758 as a basis to exclude and isolate Taiwan from participating in the international community. This not only violates the principle of universality on which the UN was founded and the WHO Charter, but also deprives the people of Taiwan of their rights. Resolution 2758 only addresses the issue of giving the China seat to the PRC in the UN. It has never involved the representation of Taiwan and its people in the UN system, nor does it touch upon or define Taiwan's relationship with the PRC. Taiwan will never accept Beijing's unilateral statements, which ignore the facts.
Health is a fundamental human right. However, the CCP claims that Taiwan has removed the political foundation for its participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) by refusing the "1992 Consensus" under the "one China principle". This clearly demonstrates the CCP’s use of politics to violate Taiwanese people’s right to health. The MAC sternly warns the other side of the Taiwan Strait to face up to cross-Strait realities and stop negatively oppressing Taiwan, which does nothing to help benign cross-Strait interactions. Taiwan further appeals to the WHO to protect the health and safety of people around the world and not be manipulated by the political claims of a single country in the time of pandemic. Only the democratically elected government of Taiwan alone has the right to represent Taiwan and truly care for the people of Taiwan. The ROC government will continue to cooperate with the international community and to engage in negotiations with the WHO regarding Taiwan’s participation in the WHA.